


I'll Never Change

by Trashness



Category: Free!
Genre: Alternate Universe - Rock Band, Fluff, Long suffering Sousuke, M/M, Tattoo Artist Sousuke, am I the only one who loves thinking about what clothes the boys wear?, future fish, very little angst
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-11-25
Updated: 2015-11-25
Packaged: 2018-05-03 08:52:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 19,599
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5284463
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Trashness/pseuds/Trashness
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Rin's graduated high school and has no idea what to do. Nagisa and Rei still have one more year to complete, Haru will be starting his illustration degree soon, and Sousuke is spending more and more time at the tattoo shop perfecting his craft, as well as getting way more attractive than he has any right to be and confusing the living shit out of Rin. So Rin does what any normal, unfocused, high school graduate would do.</p>
<p>Start a band, of course.</p>
            </blockquote>





	I'll Never Change

**Author's Note:**

> I SAID I WOULD WRITE MORE SOURIN AND I DID DAMMIT!
> 
> Oh man tho turned out way longer than I anticipated. And It took ages to get to because school was crazy for a few months. But it's done now!  
> This is pretty much a prequel to my other fic "Don't change", but you don't really need to know anything about that to understand this.

Rin stands in front of Sousuke’s apartment door, breathing heavily after climbing the several flights of stairs. His loose tank top and shorts bunch and cling to his skin uncomfortably, and he can feel a bead of sweat slowly travel its way from his hairline to his jaw. Every summer feels worse than the last. Rin evens out his breath, wipes his brow, and knocks on Sousuke’s door. There’s a groan and some rustling from inside before the door quickly swings open. Sousuke, with his hair flattened on one side and torso glistening with sweat, looks unamused.

“You should make a band with me,” Rin punches the sentence out. Sousuke blinks blearily at him.

 

He slams the door shut.

 

“Oi!” Rin starts. “Sousuke~” He manages to whine and yell.

“Get back here! Sousuke!” His fists pound on the door. It rattles in its frame. “Sousuke. Soooouuuusuke!”

“Jesus, stop that!” Sousuke opens the door and Rin almost falls through the doorway as his support is taken away from him.

“You’ll get me kicked out. The neighbours have already complained about you showing up here at 2am.”.

Sousuke leads Rin back to his bedroom. His futon is rolled up and his ceiling fan squeaks at the highest speed. His balcony door is open, desperately inviting any wandering breeze in. Another dusty fan has been pulled out and sits on the ground. Sousuke collapses on the floor, starfishing to increase the surface area of his body that is exposed to the breeze. His boxers flutter a little bit in the breeze. Rin slips off his tank top and shorts, laying next to him in just his briefs. It’s an old tradition. Lying on the floor in summer in just their underwear, focusing only on the heat and the cicadas screaming through the window. They lay in silence for some time. Rin starts to feel a bit better and less sweaty under the speeding fans. He could really go for a lazy afternoon nap when Sousuke grumbles.

 

“What was that nonsense you were spouting before?” His low voice vibrates the floor. Rin dozes lightly, trying to remember why he had come over initially.

“Oh yeah,” He sighs. “We should make a band together.”

Sousuke scoffs. “Why?”

“Money. Fame. Fortune.” Rin says with a lazy smile. Sousuke chuckles next to him.

“How on earth would we even put one together? Who would be in it?”

“Well I can play guitar.”

“Is that what you call it?” Sousuke smirks. Rin snarls and lightly punches his arm. It makes a sickening wet sound and they both wrinkle their noses in disgust.

“So sweaty.” Rin wipes his hand on his briefs. “But seriously I can play guitar. And sing. And you can also play guitar. And sing.”

“You think I can sing?”

“Why not? You’re perfect at everything else.” Rin sighs. He’s known Sousuke forever, and with the exception of a poor sense of direction, Sousuke seemed to be naturally gifted at everything. Sports, academics, music. He’d even won the genetic lottery with being tall, dark, and handsome.

 

“Great. We have two guitars. Is that it?”

“Noooooo.” Rin growls. “Haru can play bass. Nagisa can play drums, and Rei…” Rin laughs a bit to himself. “Rei can play anything we need him too.”

Sousuke hums at this new information. He mulls it over, distracting himself from the feeling of sweat gathering on his eyelids.

 

“Why do you want to do this?” He asks again. Rin shrugs.

“It’d be fun right? All of us… hanging out?”

Sousuke is unsatisfied with his answer. He knows summer is coming to an end, and with it Rei and Nagisa will head back to high school, Haru will start his new illustration and design degree, he’ll continue working full time at his tattoo apprenticeship… but Rin? Rin has nowhere to go. Sousuke sinks deeper into the floor with a deep exhale.

“What?” Rin’s eyes narrow. Sousuke turns onto his side and props his head up with his hand. He looks down at Rin’s resting face. His red hair splays around him. Even damp with sweat, it still looks like fire.

“You don’t really want this.” Sousuke states.

“What? ‘Course I do.” Rin’s bright eyes snap open. Sousuke’s cool gaze is unwavering.

“No you don’t. You’re just bored.”

Rin quirks an eyebrow at this.

“You’re not at school anymore and you’re not working. You’re just looking for something to do.”

“Tch,” Rin snarls and pushes past Sousuke to sit up. Sousuke follows. “So how’s your future job. Done anything cool lately?” Rin attempts to take the focus off of him and his future, or lack thereof. Sousuke closes his eyes and hums. He starts to roll up his boxers and Rin’s eyes are drawn to stare at his muscular upper thigh. There are several rough tattoos there that Sousuke has put on himself to practice. Sketching on melons and grapefruit is all when and good, but you have to move on to human skin sometime. Some of the tattoos are just lines or five-pointed stars. Then the tattoos start to look a bit more advanced. A small koi fish with scales on it. Words written in a fancy font. Rin creeps forward, resting his hand on Sousuke’s knee. A splash of pink high up on Sousuke’s thigh has caught his eye.

“Did that just yesterday. They’ve moved me on to colours now.”

Rin looks at the small cherry blossom, delicately shaded with deep magentas. It’s a stark contrast to Sousuke’s tan skin and the other, primarily black, tattoos.

“It’s cute.” Rin laughs. Sousuke smiles with him. “Are you planning on getting anything? Besides your practice doodles I mean.”

Sousuke hums. He begins to roll down his boxers again.

“I was actually thinking about collaborating with Nanase on something.”

Rin almost slips on his sweaty hand in shock.

“Haru?” He chokes out. Sousuke just nods.

“Yeah. He’s always drawing those really detailed underwater scenes. I really like them. Thought I might get a sleeve of one.” He ignores Rin’s perplexed expression.

“I thought you didn’t like Haru.”

“I like him fine. Why’d you think that?” Sousuke chuckles and lays back, throwing his arms behind his head. “Like he’s not the most personable guy in the world, but neither am I.”

“Hmmm,” Rin hums. Sousuke closes his eyes, continuing to ignore the pinched look on his friend’s face. Despite him blowing it off, Rin distinctly remembers the coldness Sousuke had shown towards Haru when they first met. The tense interactions and threatening subtext were not missed. The two seemed to get along ok now, but Rin always thought it was because they just learnt to deal with one another. Rin laughs and lays back down next to Sousuke.

“I always assumed that you were jealous of Haru. That you were afraid he had taken your place or something.”

Sousuke doesn’t respond.

“Were you jeaaaalllouuus?” Rin sneers and elbows Sousuke in the ribs. He winces.

“Did l’il Sousuke want me all to himself?” Rin continues to laugh and elbow.

“L’il Sousuke’s gonna kick your ass if you don’t stop that.” Sousuke grabs Rin’s hands and snarls, but he can’t help the smile that peeks from underneath when he hears Rin laugh. Rin tries to wrench his hands back and kicks playfully at his shins. Sousuke eventually relents and lets him go.

“I was never jealous of Haru.” His voice rumbles in his chest. “And I’ll join your stupid band only on one condition.”

Rin rolls onto his side. Sousuke’s face looks calm, but the corners of his mouth turn up into a smirk.

“And what’s that?”

“You figure out what you want to do with your life” He cracks open his teal eyes to grin at Rin. Rin darkly laughs and flops onto his stomach.

“Yeah, right.”

“I’m serious.”

Rin stews in silence and his own sweat for some time. He then chances a look over his shoulder to see Sousuke still smiling at him.

“Really?”

“Really. Pick a path. Find an ambition. Until then, your silly band will be a guitarist down.”

 

Rin pushes Sousuke’s condition out of his head over the next few days. He still has four other friends he could ask. No reason to decide his fate just yet. He calls Nagisa first one night.

“Hey,”

“Rin! What’s up?!”

“Not much. Wanna make a band with me?”

“Sure!”

 

Bless Nagisa’s over-enthusiasm for anything that sounded remotely interesting. And of course, now that Nagisa was in, Rei would be sure to follow. Rin shows up to his house on another balmy afternoon. Rei opens the door and a rush of cold air blows through it onto Rin’s overheated body. _Sweet air-conditioning._

“Can I come in?!” Rin restrains himself from leaping over Rei into his cool house. Rei looks surprised to see him, but lets him in all the same. They head to the kitchen, where Rin downs the glass of water he’s offered in one gulp.

“I’ve got a proposition for you.” He pants, laying the glass down on the counter. Rei arches an eyebrow over his red frames, ever skeptical. He patiently waits for Rin to continue.

“I’m thinking of putting a band together. Just something fun. Casual. Y’know.” Rin shrugs. “You in?”

Rei exhales and leans onto the counter.

“I dunno, Rin-san. It sounds fun and all, but I’m entering my final year of high school. I’m going to have to keep up with all my subjects, study for entrance exams, and still go to all of my track events.” He sighs and combs a hand through his hair.

“Nagisa’s in.”

Rei visibly winces. Rin exposes his sharp teeth with an easy grin. _Got him_. Rei’s brows pinch together and he bites the side of his cheek.

“When do we start?” He groans.

 

Rin stands in front of Haru’s apartment. Haru would be… _difficult._ He was stubborn, oddly selfish, but yet he still managed to find himself swept up in Rin or Nagisa’s shenanigans. Rin had convinced him to do some crazy stuff in the past. That’s what best friends were for right? So surely he could rope him into something crazy again. He knocks cautiously on the door.

“Haru? It’s me.” There’s some rustling in the apartment, but the door does not open. Rin is about to jimmy it open, a skill he’s gotten quite good at despite Haru’s annoyance, when the door reluctantly opens. Haru’s hair is uncharacteristically unkempt and his eyes are unfocused. He must have fallen asleep on the couch.

“Heeeeey,” Rin smirks and leans on the doorframe. The sight of his pointed grin makes Haru’s eyes narrow. That expression was never a good sign.

“You know what’d be fun?” Rin’s eyes sparkle. Haru’s barely blink. “You should join a band with meeEEEEGH!” Rin throws out his arm to prevent Haru from closing the door, but instead his arm just gets sandwiched between the heavy door and its frame. He recoils with a snarl. Haru does not apologise.

 

“Gah, shit! That really hurt.” Rin hisses and rubs the red mark on his forearm. He follows Haru into his apartment.

“Don’t put it in the way then.” Haru answers. Like it’s obvious.

He makes his way to the fridge and begins to pour a glass of barley ice tea and slides it over to Rin. He takes it gratefully.

“You want anything to eat?”

Rin actually IS hungry, but he knows better than to tell Haru that.

“Nah, I’m fine actually.”

“Suit yourself.” Haru takes out a frying pan to heat up on the stove and a steak of fresh mackerel out of his fridge. He prepares it with some salt and lemon juice, before throwing it into the pan to sizzle. The smell quickly fills up the small kitchen. It’s not a bad smell, but it triggers memories of the thousands of meals Rin had to eat when staying at Haru’s place for sleepovers when they were younger. Memories of Rin talking excitedly late into the night, not yet realizing that Haru had fallen asleep some time ago. Of hot, sticky summer nights, a lot like the current ones, spent running on the beach in the moonlight chasing the tides and counting shooting stars.

 

“So why are you here?” Haru breaks him out of his reverie. Rin’s eyes refocus and he remembers the task at hand.

“I told you. You should join a band with me.”

Haru is silent again. He turns his piece of fish over and adds a pinch of pepper. He walks back to the fridge, pulls out a bundle of greens, and methodically chops them on the counter. Slipping them into the pan with the fish and some sesame oil, he speaks up again.

“Why would I do that?”

“Because it’d be fun.” Rin laughs. Haru just hums.

“Is that it?”

“You’d get to play bass. You like playing bass.”

“I do.” Haru slowly stirs the greens in the pan. Rin can see that he’s chewing the inside of his cheek. A sure sign that he’s mulling things over.

“You’d get to hang out with me.” Rin grins widely. “And of course Nagisa and Rei will be there too.”

Haru doesn’t smile, but a warmness comes from his features. He opens his mouth, like he’s a bout to concede defeat, when his brows suddenly knit together.

“And Sousuke?”

“He uhhhh….” Rin buries his hands deep in his pockets. He shuffles around the corner as non-chalantly as he can.

“He can’t do it. Work commitments.”

Haru turns over his shoulder to level Rin with a cold stare. Rin hasn’t been able to lie to him since they were ten. He grinds his teeth and scoffs.

“Alright, alright. He _won’t_ do it.”

“Why?” Haru focuses on dishing out his food onto a plate.

“Because he’s an idiot.” Rin crosses his arms and spits. He resembles a kicked puppy. Haru debates whether he should pry further. He cares about his friend, but Rin’s spats with Sousuke were so commonplace that he was starting to become bored with the whole thing.

“Why?” Haru gives an exhausted sigh. He pulls up a stool at his counter and begins to eat his food. Rin hops up next to him, sitting on the counter and looking down at Haru.

“Ugh, it’s just so damn stupid” _Here we go_. Haru prepares himself for a long rant.

“He says he won’t join until I figure out what I wanna do with my life! As if his absence is really some kind of collateral to get me to change!” Rin throws his head back and laughs.

“But you do want him there?” Haru pushes onwards.

“Well of course!” Rin throws his arms in front of him dramatically. “But if he’s not there, it’s not the end of the world. I’m not gonna go out there and do some bullshit ‘getting in touch with myself’ thinking just because he won’t sing some shitty covers with me!”

Haru hums. Rin breathes heavily. He combs both of his hands through his long hair, then hastily ties it up into a loose ponytail to give his hands something to do.

“Do you know though?”

“Know what?”

Haru pointedly sets his chopsticks down. He looks up at Rin with an empty stare that seems to shake him in his chest.

“What you want to do with your life?”

Rin stares down at him. His expression switches between confused and angry several times. He finally lets out a loud grunt and his taught jaw goes slack. His voice falls flat and hushed.

“I’ve got no fucking idea.”

 

Rehearsals start the next week in Rin’s stifling garage. He wheels in several large floor fans and opens up the metal roller door to make it slightly more bearable. But Rei’s keyboard and several of the amps still become alarmingly hot throughout the day. They don’t endeavor to write any of their own songs. They all quickly agree to just start with covers. Songs that would be sickeningly fun to play and borderline obnoxious, but always seem to get large groups of people moving. Their set list quickly becomes a combination of horribly catchy tracks from Walk the Moon, Shinee, Fall Out Boy, and maybe even some Alien Ant Farm. Rei deconstructs and leads the way through many of the songs, being the only one classically trained and with a keen enough ear to do so. Haru sits by idly on a stool until Rei has figured out the bass line and relays it to him. Once he has, Haru is quick to pick it up. Rin tries his hardest to pick out his chords before Rei gets to him, but he often needs a little guidance. A sharp here. A flat here. But he pushes himself to gradually not need Rei’s help anymore. He starts to embellish his parts progressively until they sound slick and interesting. Nagisa… well Nagisa just kind of did what he felt was right.

 

“Nagisa!” Rei yells over his shoulder as his boyfriend starts to lash out on the snare and high hat. Haru drops his bass with the smallest frown. He had almost finally mastered that riff too.

“What are you doing?!”

“Uhhhh…” Nagisa scratches the back of his head with one of his sticks. He shrugs and gives a crooked smile. “Playing the drums?”

“You can’t just go off like that! It doesn’t suit the mood of the song at all! You have to create mood and atmosphere to build to an emotional arc! You’ll completely destroy the ambience…!”

“Watcha guys doiiiiiing?” The door to the main house opens and a feminine voice calls out. Gou pokes her head into the garage to examine the scene. Here eyes bounce from Nagisa at the drum set, to Rei shoving a piece of sheet music in his face, to Haru sitting boredly with his bass slung around his waist, then finally to her brother who’s trying his best to ignore all the outbursts and figure out his part. His thin brows are deeply furrowed.

“Riiiiiin,” Gou calls.

“We’re busy. Go awaaaaayyyy.” He replicates her whiny tone. She pouts and marches down the stairs.

“What are you guys up to anyway? You’ve been down here a fair bit.”

“We’re in a band!” Nagisa excitedly exclaims. “It was Rin-chan’s idea.”

Gou halts in her tracks with a snort. She goes to start jeering her brother, but hesitates when she sees how hunched over in concentration he is. How calloused his fingers look. How he doesn’t turn around defensively at her judgmental laugh.

 

“You’re really serious about this?” Her voice is hushed in awe.

“’Course I’m serious. This is something I want to do.” He grumbles into his chest. His fingers continue to dance over the strings of his guitar, plucking out pleasant little melodies. Gou shakes her head.

“Well,” She smiles. “If you’re serious then you guys need to get organized. Are you the manager?” She nods towards Rin. He looks up in confusion.

“I uh… I guess? I mean I am the leader. What’s a manager do?”

Gou scoffs again and pulls up a seat.

“You have to organize getting gigs, negotiate payment for said gigs. If you guys ever want to record anything, they research recording studios and the different rates, and bargain with those rates. They set up accounts and websites and run any social media for you guys to advertise yourselves. Help establish your brand in the community by networking with fellow bands and artists. Employ graphic designers for a logo and any materials you may need, such as posters, pamphlets, album covers. You know… just simple stuff.” Gou shrugs. Rin’s eyes have widened at the number of tasks she’s just rattled off.

“I uh… Yeah I could totally do all that.” He nods and swallows. Gou raises her eyebrows.

“I think Gou should manage us.” Haru states from his stool on the other side of the garage. Rin rounds on him.

“Wait, what?!”

But Gou gives an excited little skip and squeal.

“I humbly accept.”

“Wait, no… we haven’t even…”

“Yay, Gou!”

“We’re in your hands Kou!” Nagisa and Rei call out. Rin is about to jump up to put an end to all this nonsense, but he knows when he’s been beat. He slumps forward and groans.

“And as my first act as your manager,” Gou flips through a clipboard that has mysteriously materialized in her arms. “I would like to have a logo for your band. What’s your name?”

Everyone goes quiet. It would be completely silent if not for the gentle hum of the amps and the distant cicadas outside. Everyone looks to Rin, who sits blankly in his seat. Names were something that were only awarded to things that were going to be permanent. This still hadn’t sunk into Rin that this was actually _happening._ He still half expected his friends to stop showing up in these sweltering afternoons, but it was almost a fortnight later… and here they still were. Admittedly they only had a clumsy collection of songs under their belts and a pile of sweat stained clothing, but there were here all the same.

“I uh… I hadn’t really thought about it yet. I mean… I’m open to ideas.”

“I HAVE ONE!” Nagisa’s hand shoots up like he has an answer in a classroom. Rei pushes it down.

“No, no we should do this democratically. We should all offer ideas and then vote for the one you like best.” He pulls out a large piece of butchers paper and scribbles the words “Band name ideas” at the top. He then grabs a strip of duct tape and sticks it to the wall.

“But you can’t vote for _your_ idea. You have to vote for someone else’s.” At this, he looks pointedly at Nagisa. He rolls his eyes in return.

“You’re so formal, Rei-chan. Do we really need this?” He pouts.

“I like it. It’s logical and fair.” Rin hops off of his chair and walks over to Rei. He takes the marker Rei offers him. “It’ll help us pick our name quickly, and everyone gets the chance to contribute. Thanks, Rei.”

Rei pushes up his frames on his nose.

“My two greatest strengths are developing methodologies and handling Nagisa.” Rin chuckles, but Nagisa bristles behind them. He resembles a small, fat bird, puffing out its chest.

 

Rin prepares to write down the suggestions. “Alright then Nagisa. What’s your idea?”

“Club Penguin.”

There’s a loud smack as Rei’s hand loudly collides with his forehead. Even Haru wrinkles his nose in distaste.

“Nagisa, we can’t…”

“Club. Penguin.” And Nagisa levels Rin with the most threatening and convicted stare he can muster. Rin doesn’t find it all that frightening, but he rather avoid a tantrum on Nagisa’s part.

“Fine.” He sighs and scribbles the name down. No one will _possibly_ vote for it, so it doesn’t really matter.

“Rei?”

Rei scratches at his chin thoughtfully.

“I kiiiiind of have an idea?” He nervously moves forward. He wipes the sweat from his palm on his pants before taking the marker from Rin.

“It’s kind of difficult to spell though.” He writes his suggestion underneath Nagisa’s in smooth, languid strokes.

 

_Les papillons sont libres_

“It’s kind of difficult to _say_ ,” Rin laughs.

“I don’t even know what that means!” Nagisa cries.

“It is French, which is the most romantic and beautiful of all languages.” Rei adjusts his glasses, unperturbed by his band mates sniggering. Rin starts to laugh harder and jumps onto an upside down milk crate.

“I can imagine it now. Us in front of thousands of screaming fans. The lights go down and a single spotlight comes up on me. A hush falls over the crowd” He sets the scene with a touch of awe to his voice.”

What’s up Tokyo! I’m Rin Matsuoka and we are LESS PAPILLOWS SAINT LIBRARIES!” He makes a hushed whooshing noise, imitating the sound of a large crowd cheering him on. Nagisa is cackling from behind his drums, along with Gou. Even Haru wears a small smirk.

“Alright, Alright!” Rei resumes his seat. “What’s _your_ idea then?”

Rin immediately loses all of his bravado. The sharp smile that was smeared across his face two seconds ago has vanished. His eyes dart from Rei to Haru. Both wear the same unimpressed expression.

“I uh…” He rubs at his forearm.

“Hmmmm?” Rei leans forward with a shit eating grin. Nagisa was definitely rubbing off on him.

“I have… a name.” Rin spits. “AND it’s a good name too.” He turns towards the piece of paper and scrawls across it angrily. He steps back, revealing the name with a small flourish.

 

_Rin and the Threshers._

“Lame.” Haru drawls. Rei and Nagisa snigger.

“You go then.” Rin tosses the marker to Haru, who deftly catches it. He moves slowly over to the piece of paper gracefully. Almost like liquid sliding over the floor, like the heat has partially melted him.

“Future fish.” He says lazily, and adds it to the list. There’s a small murmur from the group.

“Alright!” Gou claps her hands together. “Time to vote!”

 

Rin can’t believe he loses the vote. But with Future Fish now having a name, rehearsal schedule, and a manager, things seemed to be progressing nicely. Everyone was getting more comfortable with their parts in the songs, and they were almost at the stage where they could seamlessly put everyone together. In the cramped garage, with Nagisa’s drums constantly sounding and the almost hypnotic sound of Haru’s bass guitar, it was easy for Rin to lose track of time. To lose track of days. He would become disoriented and instinctively glance over his shoulder to tell Sousuke something, only to find that, of course, he wasn’t there. He’d let out a small hiss then continue playing to himself.

 

Rin loved Haru, and Rei, and even Nagisa, but he missed the quiet, towering shadow that always stood at his side. He would never admit that he depended on Sousuke, but Sousuke kept him tethered. When Rin would get himself too worked up and frustrated, so filled with passion and anger that he thought he might burst, Sousuke would pull him back to Earth again.

 

In between Sousuke’s work schedule and his rehearsals, Rin drops by Sousuke’s apartment to harass him.

“C’moooon” He whines. “It’s really good fun. You need a hobby anyway.”

“I go to the gym.” Sousuke’s voice is soft from a long day at work.

“That doesn’t count.” Rin nudges him in the ribs.

But despite all of Rin’s prodding and borderline begging, Sousuke never budges.

“You found something to do yet?” He asks. Rin goes silent. He glowers at his feet. With that, the entire subject is dropped for the evening and the topic of conversation changes. Rin stays long into the night. Despite the heat of Sousuke’s apartment, the atmosphere is calming and Rin feels like it recharges him. The two don’t even do that much. Sometimes they’ll play video games, other times they’ll watch movies until they pass out on the futon. Rin relishes the quiet nights spent sleeping next to Sousuke. The sound of his friend’s breathing intermingles with the hum of fans and distant crickets.

 

“Rin, you’re doing it again.” Haru notes during a particularly humid rehearsal. Well into several weeks of practice, their covers are coming together with ease… well… almost.

“Shit.” Rin hisses. He had forgotten to sing the lyrics again.

“Ok, ok, I got it. Again! From the chorus! I’ll sing this time. I promise.”

Nagisa counts them in and the song starts up again. Haru’s bass struts confidently, and Rei’s synth keyboard harmonises well with Rin’s chords.

 

“ _Walk a tightrope, walk a little tightrope!”_ Rin’s voice is exuberant and carries across the din of their instruments.

“ _You walk a tightrope, walk a little tightrope!_ _Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, this heart is burning up_ _. I said, Oh, oh, oh, oh,_ ”

“Rin!”

“ _Oh, OHAUGH!”_ Rin kicks over a chair. He pulls at his bangs in frustration. In his determination to keep singing, he had forgotten to play his guitar. The band goes silent and an eerie calm falls over the garage. Rin’s heavy pants seem to echo through it.

“Fucking, shit. Goddamit, mother fucking…” He throws off his guitar and marches over to an esky filled with cans of soft drink and now melted ice. He cracks open a can of coke and downs almost half the thing at once. The bubbles burn his throat, but he’s so parched he can’t seem to stop himself. He takes one last gulp and slams the can down onto the beat up table.

“Alright. Again. I’ll get it this time.” He wipes his mouth with the back of his hand.

“That’s what you said last time.” Haru announces, never one for tact. Rin bristles and is about to lay into him when Rei jogs over. He claps Rin’s sweaty bicep.

“Rin.” His voice is firm. “What Haru means is… this has gone one for some time now. Maybe being lead guitar and singing is too much.”

Rin’s expression softens. He looks over to Haru, who nods in agreement. Despite his blank expression, Rin can see some trace of concern. He slumps down to sit on the closest stool.

“I could play guitar if you wanted to focus on just singing.” Rei offers.

“No,” Rin quickly pushes the suggestion away. “We need you for other things. You’re the only one who can mix or play keyboards, or violin, or whatever the hell we need. This is really all I can do.” He pulls a hair tie out of his pocket and knots his sweaty mop into a high ponytail.

“Well… then…” Rei runs through the different scenarios. “Haru could probably sing?”

“I only play bass.” Is Haru’s reply. Rin gives a humourless laugh.

“Then…”

“What about Sou-chan?!” Nagisa’s shrill voice cuts through them. Rin grinds his teeth. Haru’s gaze widens slightly.

“Nagisa,” He warns.

“He won’t do it.” Rin snarls.

“Awwww why not?” Nagisa seems to be immune to the dark atmosphere coming off of Rin and Haru in waves. Rei almost wants to tackle his boyfriend to the ground, but he’s also mildly curious as to what the reason is.

“Cuz he’s an arrogant asshole that’s why.”

Nagisa and Rei share a concerned look.

“Did you guys… have a fight?” Nagisa presses.

“No, no.” Rin’s eyes widen like he’s actually surprised anyone would think that. “No, no we’re great he just…” He heaves a long sigh. “He says he won’t join until I’ve decided what kind of path I wanna pursue.” He laughs darkly. “I think he’s waiting for me to drop by in a suit and say ‘guess what Sousuke? I’m gonna be a lawyer! You don’t have to worry about me anymore’… like I’d ever be cut out for some conventional occupation anyway.”

Haru’s expression darkens at the sight of his friend looking utterly defeated. The slouch in his back is uncharacteristic, and the lack of confidence is almost frightening. Rin is the most self assured person Haru knows.

“Rin,” He steps forward, placing a light hand on his friend’s shoulder.

“You don’t…”

“GUESS WHAT LOSERS!” The door to the house is almost blasted off its hinges with the force that Gou kicks it. She charges into the garage, clipboard in hand. She ignores the dreary mood of the boys in front of her.

“Guess who is the greatest manager that you shit lords will EVER have?!” She exclaims. The band is silent.

“I just booked you guys a gig! An actual PAYING gig!” She throws her arms in the air. Nagisa bursts out into a huge smile and laughs, as does Rei, before he hesitates and looks over at Rin. Rin’s eyes are wide, with either excitement or fear.

“C…can we do it?” Rei tries to look supportive. Rin tightens his ponytail.

“We’ll figure something out.”

 

During the next rehearsal, all of the music sound fantastic, but Rin still struggles to sing and play at the same time.

“I need a break.” He sighs and goes to get a can of soft drink. He can feel everyone’s eyes on him.

“Maybe we should stop.” Haru suggests.

“No, this gig is in a fortnight. We need to get ready.”

Rei sighs, trying to steer the conversation away from Rin losing his motivation.

“You know… we haven’t really talked about how we’re going to market or present ourselves.” He muses.

“That’s Gou’s job.” Haru states.

“Well, yeessss,” Rei runs his hands over the front of his shirt, evening out any wrinkles. “But we have to do our part too. Like… what are we going to wear?”

Rei notices the slight twitch of Rin’s mouth. If there’s three things that Rin is all over, it’s winning competitions, having an unfathomable amount of self confidence, and perfecting his image. Going clothes shopping with Rin is like watching someone create an identity for themselves. He lives for the shit.

“We can’t just wear our clothes?” Nagisa enquires. Rin turns to look at the small boy, who’s currently wearing a t-shirt with the call of duty logo on it, a pair of pink shorts and matching ugg boots… in summer.

“Are you kidding me?” Rin looks positively scandalized.

“Shopping triiiiip!” Gou hops up and down in place, waving her hands above her head.

 

After a turbulent ride in Rin’s van, the group manage to make their way into the large shopping center. The dry, air-conditioned air is enough to make the excursion worth it. Rin and Rei keep a firm grip on Nagisa’s wrist when he attempts to run into a clothing store filled with cheap graphic tees, marketed at 13 year olds.

“Don’t you fucking dare.” Rin warns. But they lose their grip on him when he sees his favorite ice-cream cart next to the food court.

 

With sticky fingers and lingering brain freezes, they make their way into one of Rin’s favorite stores. Loud house music pumps over the speakers. The store is dark, but for the down-lights that shine down on several featured areas.

“I’m gonna help Nagisa,” Rin says, as nicely as he can. _Help_ meaning _Dress this hopeless eight year old._ He nods at Rei and Haru, trusting them to have enough sense to be able to somewhat dress themselves. Rin also has faith in his sister, who trots off to help Rei. Normally Gou’s fashion choices could be a little… ostentatious… but in the case of the band, Rei and Haru could probably stand to be a bit sexualized.

“Ooh, Rin-rin! What about this?!” Rin turns to see Nagisa has found a t-shirt absolutely covered in gold beads and sequins. He groans and steers his friend away from the toxic shirt.

 

He helps gather several different items for Nagisa to try.

“I wanna be cute though!” Nagisa whines.

“I promise you will be cute.” He assures him. Of course, the most important part of being in a band was actually having musical talent and sounding good, but it couldn’t hurt to think about their marketability. Rin grew up watching enough boy bands to crack the code on why some were instantly famous and had careers spanning more than 2 years, while others showed up and fizzled immediately. He knows that Nagisa likes to look cute and bright colours, but he just has to reign in his eccentricities. He doesn’t want to crush Nagisa’s personality, he just wants to refine it.

“How do you like these?” He hands Nagisa a pair of rainbow suspenders. His eyes light up.

“These look great!”

“Try them on with these, this, and these.” Rin hands Nagisa the rest of the items that he’s picked out for him, then goes to check out how Haru is fairing.

 

“What have you got?” He finds Haru in the button-up section. Haru shows him the armful of shirts he has. They’re all button ups, and they’re all blue.

“Haruuuu~” Rin sighs. He takes the pile and dumps it on the rack.

“What?”

But Rin doesn’t dignify him with an answer. He just takes Haru by the wrist and drags him to the other end of the store. He picks out a navy blue, military style jacket, with red and gold details. It fits Haru snuggly, showing off his slim wait, while the epaulets make his shoulders look broader.

“You know you’re actually really hot. Why do you have to hide it?” Rin tisks while he buttons Haru’s jacket for him. Haru just shrugs, then accepts the black slim-fit jeans Rin hands him to try on.

 

When Rin makes his way to Rei, he and Gou are in a heated argument.

“BROTHER! Help this man!” Gou seems flustered. Rin notices that her arms are filled with a lot of muscle shirts, pleather pants and studded vests, whilst Rei’s arms are filled with blazers, trousers, and crisp shirts. There’s clearly a conflict in style here. Rin looks at the pile that his sister holds, takes it, then dumps it on a sales counter.

“Heyyyy,” She whines. Her heart is in the right place, but Rin can tell that his friend will never be comfortable in _any_ of the clothes that she has chosen. He then examines the clothes Rei has chosen. He keeps a slim cut, black trouser, then dumps the rest of it.

“Heyyy,” Rei imitates Gou. Everything he’s chosen looks like it would fit great, but it’s more suited to sitting in a board room, not playing in a band. Rin pulls him back towards the jackets, where Haru still sits in his military jacket and tight jeans. Nagisa also stands next to him, wearing his rainbow suspenders, pink short-shorts, yellow converse, white fitted tee, and a pair of oversized lenseless magenta glasses.

“Oh my god,” Rei laughs at his boyfriend. He looks like he should be singing sugar-pop songs, surrounded by dancing gummy bears.

“I’m going to wear this all the time!” Nagisa declares. He bounces around, kicking up his legs to test out the flexibility of his shorts.

“And Haru…you look great.” Rei laughs again. Haru’s mouth quirks up at the sides.

“Alright, alright, your turn now.” Rin rummages in the pile of jackets until he finds the one he’s looking for.

“Here we go.” He pulls out a tweed blazer with a bold black and red checkerboard print.  Rei tries it on over his black v-neck, and combined with the trousers, it makes him look sophisticated and edgy.

“Oh my god, look at you all!” Rin nods to the boys. “Please call me Jesus, because I clearly work miracles.”

Haru rolls his eyes, but at least the other two laugh.

“Rin! Help me find more clothes!” Nagisa tows Rin into a rack of Hawaiian print t-shirts.

 

The afternoon passes with Rin camped outside of the change rooms, watching his friends emerge in their new outfits and barking orders at them.

“Nagisa that is literally a girl’s shirt. Find one with less frills, please.”

“Rei, I know they have butterflies on them, but you cannot wear spandex. The world isn’t ready.”

“Haru, if you come out with one more button up worn over a t-shirt I will come in there and beat your tiny ass.”

He sends them scurrying throughout the store looking for clothes that would best suit their “image” and compliment their body type. Rin regularly has to strip Nagisa of accessories, and add them on to Haru.

 

Rin sits in his armchair, lazily sitting back. Haru sits next to him now, with his bag of clothing bought and paid for at his side.

“Rei, I like your boots.” Rin comments. Rei stands in his cubicle, wearing a pair of bright purple jeans, and he laces up a pair of high, black combat boots.

“Thanks!” Rei smiles. Nagisa comes out and shows Rin a couple of vests he’s picked out, and Rin approves two of them.

“You love this.” Haru smirks. Rin laughs and leans back in his armchair. His eyes are slipping closed.

“It’s fun.” He sighs. “And it’s one of the few things that I’m the best at.” He smirks. Haru scoffs.

“You’re good at plenty of things.”

“Mmmm,” Rin hums. “But Sousuke, you and Rei are all the _best_ at something. I don’t really have that.”

Haru squints at his friend. He looks at Rei and Nagisa standing in the change rooms, huge smiles plastered on their faces as they hold up different shirts against one another. Haru then slowly looks around the store, examining the images of perfectly photoshopped models wearing the latest trends. He looks at several of the models who try to look very every-man, while others are made up to resemble bohemian sex-gods. Haru takes in all the mannequins, catalogues and displays that have been carefully planned and executed.

“Rin,” His voice is barely above a whisper. Rin lazily hums. “Why don’t you do this?”

“What?” Rin cracks an eye open to glare at his friend.

“Why don’t you do… _this_?” Haru gestures to Rei and Nagisa, and the large piles of clothing that Rin has chosen and set aside for them.

“I can’t do this.” Rin snorts. “This isn’t a… thing.”

“Sure it is.” Haru shrugs. “Someone does it. Someone gets paid for it.” He turns his cool eyes towards Rin.

“Why not you?”

Rin scoffs again, but it’s weak. He closes his eyes, then starts to doze with the sound of Rei and Nagisa’s laughter in the background.

 

“Sousuuuuuukkkke!” Rin pounds on the apartment door. The old door shakes in its flimsy frame.

“Soooooouuuuuuusssssuuuukkeeeeeee!” He slowly yells out.

“Goddamit, Rin!” The door is wrenched open. Rin laughs, his eyes crinkling at the sides. He flashes his trademark grin at Sousuke, but when he actually gets a good look at his friend, it evaporates. His eyes shoot wide and his stomach gives a painful tumble. Sousuke stands in the doorway, just in his boxers. His hair is lightly ruffled and his skin glistens with sweat. Rin is used to seeing this. He’d be the first person to admit that Sousuke was sinfully attractive. But it’s the new, dark tattoo that dances across his left arm that throws Rin for a loop. Sousuke had mentioned it previously, but _seeing_ it was an entirely different matter. A collection of blues and teals artfully stretches itself across his muscular bicep and forearm. Rin could make out the shapes of several chunks of coral reef in the foreground, and a hulking whale shark in the midground. This was definitely some of Haru’s work, but it had been brought to life on Sousuke’s skin. Rin’s eyes dart from Sousuke’s handsome face, to his new tattoo that now made him seem a little edgier and… _dangerous._

 

_Oh no._

 

Rin is so goddamn weak. He likes girls. He _really_ likes girls. He had dated girls, made out with girls, boobs were some of the greatest things in the world! But despite his absolute confidence that he was straight and wanted girls, guys with piercings and tattoos just _worked_ for him. He’d claim he just liked the image, or how they looked. He dressed that way himself more often than not. He would say he _admired_ those kind of guys, or appreciated the style. But they didn’t turn him on or anything. The way his stomach fluttered and heat pooled in his gut was absolutely _not_ arousal. No way. He was straight! 100% no dick zone.

 

But looking at his best friend, with his handsome face, dark hair, drool worthy hip bones and new tattoo… Rin has to come up with an excuse for why the blood is gathering at his crotch _real_ fast.

“Rin?” Sousuke’s face goes from annoyed to concerned.

“Huuummmnugh,” Rin blurts the noise out of his mouth, which is quickly filling with saliva.

“What?”

“Tat! Tattoo,” Rin manages. “Uh new? Today?”

Sousuke smiles and rubs at the still sensitive skin.

“Yeah, just finished the last colouring session yesterday.”

“Good. Uh. L…Looks good.” Rin swallows and remembers why he’s there in the first place. He coughs, then pushes past Sousuke into the apartment. “ANYWAY!” Sousuke laughs and follows him.

“So, is there a reason you have graced me with you presence?” He crosses his arms over his chest and leans on one hip. Rin’s eyes are immediately drawn to the tattoo again, but he pushes past it.

“Guess what you’re doing in a week?” Rin points at him dramatically.

“Uhhh… doing simple tattoos on clients? Spending romantic evenings with you?” He smirks. Rin grins back.

“Both are true, but no. You will be lead singing for my band at our next gig!”

Sousuke doesn’t seem surprised by Rin’s outburst. He just raises his eyebrows thoughtfully.

“Um… nooooo. No I won’t. We have a deal remember?”

Rin begins to reach in his back pocket. He had this all planned out. He was going to throw the brochure in Sousuke’s face and laugh triumphantly. A sort of “I fucking did it!” moment. But his hands are trembling now. He doesn’t smack Sousuke with the brochure and then flip him off like he had planned. He hands it over with shaking fingers, then meekly stands back. He wrings the hem of his shirt between his hands nervously. Sousuke looks down at the brochure curiously. A group of large grey building sit on the cover and at the top of the page are the words “Bunka Fashion College”.

“Rin”, He breathes.

“I’m uh… I’m applying for their fashion marketing and styling degree.” Rin mumbles and rubs the back of his neck. “Pretty stupid right?”

“No!” Sousuke thumbs through the brochure a bit more. His eyes scan over it as quickly as he can, before he lets it drop. He grabs Rin and pulls him into a tight, sudden hug.

“No, never!” His voice flutters next to Rin’s ear. Rin stands stiffly. His breath has been knocked out of him. Sousuke lets out an airy laugh, then grabs Rin by the shoulders and pushes him away at arms length.

“This is fantastic!” His usually cold features sparkle warmly. His smile is almost blinding. Sousuke gives another short laugh, then pulls Rin into another crushing hug.

“I’m so proud of you.” His low voice vibrates into Rin’s chest. Rin can smell the sweat and chemical tattoo inks on his skin. Even though the summer heat is suffocating, being wrapped up in Sousuke’s body heat isn’t the most uncomfortable thing in the world.

“Hey, c’mon, it’s not that shocking is it?” Rin tentatively laughs. Sousuke peels himself off with a relaxed grin.

“No, no. You could do anything you damn wanted.” And the sincerity of Sousuke’s words knock the wind out of Rin for a second time.

“So…uh… You gonna sing for my band or not?” Rin pokes Sousuke hard in the chest. “That was our deal remember?”

“Noooo, the deal was I would join your band. I assumed I’d be playing guitar.” Sousuke smirks.

“You’re singing.”

“You don’t even know if I can!” Sousuke exclaims, but Rin is tired of hearing excuses. He shuffles into Sousuke’s bedroom and emerges with his acoustic guitar.

“Play something.” He thrusts it into Sousuke’s chest. Sousuke looks up at him perplexed.

“C’mon man. Nut up or shut up.”

Sousuke reluctantly takes the guitar, but he’s never been one to back down from a challenge. He sits on his beat up couch with it perched on his lap. Rin eagerly sits on the floor in front of him.

“Any requests?” Sousuke tunes his guitar with expert fingers.

“Stop stalling.” Rin levels him with a suspicious glare.

“Jeez alright.” Sousuke starts plucking at the guitar to ease into a series of chords. They are slow and sweet, and Rin doesn’t seem to recognize them. Sousuke clears his throat, then shyly begins to sing.

“ _Oh, I built a world around you_

_Oh, you had me in a dream,_

_I lived in every word you said_

_The stars had aligned_

_I thought that I found you_

_And I don't wanna love somebody else_ ”

 

His voice starts off hushed and unsure, then starts to gain confidence. His usually low voice is able to reach surprisingly high and the melancholy words don’t match the faltering smile on his face. Rin watches his mouth and fingers with fascination.

“ _Oh, we left it all unspoken_

_Oh, we buried it alive_

_and now it's screaming in my head_

_Oh, I shouldn't go on hoping_

_Oh, that you will change your mind_

_and one day we could start again_

_Well I don't care if loneliness kills me_

_I don't wanna love somebody else_ ”

 

Sousuke tries to lift his eyes to meet Rin’s, but then they both look at the floor when their gazes connect. Sousuke has stopped trembling, and Rin wonders if he’s used some kind of wizardry to transfer them to him, because he can’t seem shake the tremors now rippling through his body. Sousuke’s voice continues to gain in strength until it takes on a sexy gravelly quality.

 

“ _Oh, I thought that I could change you_

_Oh, I thought that we would be the greatest story that I tell_

_I know that it's time to tell you it's over_

_But I don't wanna love somebody else._ ”

 

Sousuke finishes his song and sighs. He lays his guitar on his lap and looks down at Rin, who appears to have not moved … or even blinked… throughout the whole thing.

“Was that uh…?” Sousuke actually sounds unsure of himself. Rin still stares at him breathlessly, giving no indication of whether he liked it or not.

“A week.” Rin finally gasps. “You _have_ to sing that with us in a week.”

 

And for their first gig? It goes pretty well. It’s at some dive bar that Gou managed to sweet talk the manager into letting them play at. Of course, they have zero reputation, so the crowd doesn’t start off large, but they manage to catch the interest of several groups walking by and have themselves a nice busy audience by the end of their set. Rin is still very much the enigmatic front man between songs, but as soon as Sousuke starts to sing, all eyes are on him. He sings to the audience with sultry, half-lidded eyes and winks at any patrons if he thinks they’ll get a kick out of it. One shy blonde boy almost has a heart attack when Sousuke blows him a kiss. And Rin, being the least modest person in the world, has to admit that his band looks pretty damn good. Nagisa is cute and endearing, whilst Haru looks cool and aloof. Rei looks very sophisticated, whilst Sousuke…. Well _damn…_ Sousuke just looks really fuckin’ good. It was hard for Rin to keep his eyes off of him in his plunging neck tank top with numerous strategically cut holes in it, giving little peeks of his tanned and toned skin underneath. Topped with his combat boots and oversized black beanie, he looks positively sinful. Rin bites his bottom lip and focuses on the strings of his guitar. When their set finishes they receive a large round of applause and an invitation to return to the bar whenever they want.

 

Sousuke starts to attend rehearsals regularly, and the change in Rin is readily apparent. He laughs a lot more. He often pulls pranks on Sousuke or Haru, and can step back to think of more songs they can play. It’s like a great weight has been lifted off of his shoulders.

“Aren’t you glad you joined? Look at all this great shit you were missing out on.” Rin chuckles and drapes an arm across Sousuke’s shoulders. He takes a large gulp from his water bottle. The precipitation surrounding it drips onto his wrist and down his forearm.

“Ugh, if I’d known that would mean spending more time with you, I would have never done this.” Sousuke fake complains. Rin moves his arm from around his shoulders to around his neck, placing him in a tight headlock.

“What’d you say, motherfucker?” Rin ruffles his hair. But Sousuke easily over powers him and holds his hands still by his sides.

“You’re such a pissbaby.” Sousuke laughs as does Rin. And if Sousuke holds Rin’s hands for longer than he should, Rin doesn’t say anything.

“Hey by the way, I need to ask you for a favour.” Rin pulls up a stool next to Sousuke.

“Oh my god, what more can I give you?” He looks at Rin in mock shock. “Do you need a kidney now?”

Rin punches him in the shoulder.

“Shut up, this is for my university application.” He laughs. “I have to put a portfolio together, and I was kinda hoping you’d model for me.”

Sousuke narrows his eyes at his friend.

“Aaaaand what would that entail?”

“You know, I pick out clothes for you to wear, take photos and submit them to show that I’m not a complete idiot.” Rin shrugs.

“I think they’ll figure out you’re a complete idiot anyway, but sure.” Sousuke smirks. “Shopping tomorrow then?”

 

They meet up at the mall in the food court. Sousuke sits at a table sipping on an iced black coffee staring at his smartphone screen.

“Miss me?” Rin saunters up to him. Sousuke looks up with a small smirk.

“Always.”

Rin leads him to the same shop he and his band mates spent several hours in the other day. He makes a beeline for the pants section, searching for the different styles of pants he’ll need for the looks he has pre-planned.

“What are we looking for here?” Sousuke flips through several pairs idly. Rin doesn’t look up from his focused searching. He brushes pants aside like they’re vines in a jungle that he’s cutting down on his path.

“Something that will make your ass look fantastic.”

“Well you should just stop looking, because my ass always looks fantastic.” Sousuke flashes his most charming smile. Rin snorts.

“Trust me, I can make it better.” He finds the three pairs of pants he’s looking for and tosses them to Sousuke.

“Hold please. Follow me.”

Sousuke rolls his eyes, but follows after him all the same. Rin picks out several jackets, vests, assorted shirts and shoes, even some scarves and a few hats. All of these are tossed into Sousuke’s awaiting arms. Rin then drags him into the changing rooms. In the cramped cubicle, Rin hangs up several of the items, sorting them into outfit combinations.

 

“Alright, we’ll start with a street wear look.” He mumbles to himself. “Go ahead and get undressed.”

“So forceful.” Sousuke sighs. Rin continues sorting the clothes, then looks over his shoulder to see that Sousuke hasn’t moved.

“Why do you still have clothes on?”

“Wait… you were serious?” A noticeable blush creeps up on Sousuke’s cheeks.

“Well, yeah! Why the hell not?” Rin doesn’t see what the problem is. “We spend our free time together in our underwear all the time!”

“Shhhhh!” Sousuke pushes him into the wall and claps a hand over his mouth. “Ok, ok, just shhh! There are other people here.” He hisses. Rin dramatically gasps.

“Are you _ashamed_ of me, Sousuke?!” He feigns hurt, but a smile on the corners of his mouth betrays him.

“Shut up.” Sousuke kicks off his pants into Rin’s face. He takes the pants Rin holds out for him and slips them on. They’re tighter than he’s used to, with pleather details around the outsides of his thighs and insides of his calves. He goes to do up the fly, but the button is stiff and the hole doesn’t feel quite big enough. He slips his shirt off to get a clearer view of it, but it still doesn’t budge.

“…You need a hand?” Rin offers.

“No!” Sousuke all but shouts at him. The blush on his cheeks spreads down to his chest and neck. His fingers feel sweaty.

“You sure?”

“Yup!” But Sousuke continues to falter. It’s like watching Bambi on the ice. Just uncoordinated and helpless.

“Jeeez,” Rin groans. Ignoring his friend’s protests he closes in on him and grabs his fly. Sousuke lift his gaze to stare at the ceiling. He knows he won’t be able to bear seeing Rin’s hands on the waistband of his pants. Rin’s fingers are nimbler, but even he has to fight with the button.

“Man,” He tugs Sousuke closer to him so that their fronts touch. Sousuke swallows down the saliva that starts to rise in his mouth. “This is really tight. I wonder what it’s struggling with.” Rin tries to force the button through the hole.

“It must be your huge dick”

“I swear to fucking god, Rin.” Sousuke warns over Rin’s laughter.

“Hang on, I almost got it.” Sousuke feels more rustling and Rin’s fingers brush dangerously close to his crotch.

“So you uh… come here often?” Rin looks up at him through heavy lashes and a smirk.

“RIN!”

Rin’s boisterous laugh can be heard throughout the change rooms. He steps back and holds his hands up in surrender.

“I got it, I promise. I’m done. Here,” He hands Sousuke a long tank top with a deep cut neck and a pleather vest. Sousuke snatches them with a glare.

“See if I ever let you near my dick again.”

“Was there ever gonna be another opportunity?”

“There could have been.” Sousuke shrugs the vest on with a heated look. Rin laughs, but it rings with anxiety.

 

Sousuke finishes trying on the street look, then moves on to a more high-fashion winter one. Another pair of black pants, but these ones are simpler. Then a charcoal sweater with a high collar, and a long over-sized coat with a large hood over the top of that. Rin plays with both the hood up and down. Every time Rin reaches past him to fix the hood, Sousuke can smell the spice of his deodorant. It smells like ocean spray and lime. It’s a smell that he can pick out from a crowd and his bed sheets whenever Rin stays over.

“We’re just missing….” Rin’s brows furrow with concentration. He reaches behind him to grab a beanie. He throws it over Sousuke’s head, then flicks the hood up once more. He nods with approval.

“Alright next one.”

 

Black slacks again, but these ones are a more formal material and don’t hug his calves tightly. He buttons up the crisp white collared shirt he’s handed and tucks it into his pants. Rin slips a thin black tie over his neck. His agile fingers tie it for Sousuke quickly and expertly. Sousuke feels his breath on his neck and it sends tremors down his body. Rin steps away and finally hands Sousuke a black vest and matching suit jacket. The suit makes Sousuke look very mature and high class. Rin rakes his eyes over him from top to bottom, pleased with the fit and quality of it. It’s nice, but he doesn’t feel the flutter in his stomach that he should. Sousuke looks incredibly handsome and expensive, but he needs to look… irresistible.

“Got it.” A light bulb goes off in Rin’s head. He steps foreword and slips Sousuke’s jacket off. He then begins to roll the sleeves of his shirt up to his elbows. Rin steps back again. Ditching the jacket makes the look more modern, and rolling up the sleeves reveals Sousuke’s strong forearms and a peek of his new tattoo. Yes, Rin knows he’s onto something when the little stutter returns in his throat . Sousuke plunges his hands in his pockets and leans back to smirk down at Rin confidently.

“Like what you see?””

_Yeah. And that’s kind of the problem._

Sousuke gets changed back into his own clothes, whilst Rin gathers up the items he likes best to be purchased. Rin tries to pay for them all himself, but Sousuke refuses.

“They’re for _my_ assignment.” Rin hisses.

“And they’re going on _my body_.” Sousuke hisses back. They end up splitting the bill 60/40, with the 60% going to Sousuke. They grab a bite to eat at a nearby ramen shop, before they decide to head home. Rin starts to walk in the direction of his bus stop when Sousuke catches him by the wrist. His hand feels sweaty and Rin’s pulse thunders underneath his touch.

“You’re uh…” Sousuke swallows around his dry mouth. “You’re not gonna stay the night?”

It’s an innocent enough question. One that Rin should be used to after years of sleeping at Sousuke’s place. But the way Sousuke asks him, soft and slightly breathless, has Rin gulping for air.

“Uh… yeah. Yeah of course.” Rin nods, managing to keep his voice from shaking.

 

The night at Sousuke’s should be like any other. They order pizza and eat it in their underwear, watching old cartoons on Sousuke’s laptop. Rin cracks jokes about Sousuke’s lack of a sense of direction, whilst he fires back with remarks about how much Rin cries.

“EVERYONE cries during Pixar movies!” He exclaims. “It’s a rule!” But Sousuke just laughs.

It should be just like any other night, but the tingling in Rin’s gut prevents him from ever getting truly comfortable. He’s hyper aware of Sousuke’s gentle eyes tracing his skin, and the brush of his fingers on Rin’s thigh as he reaches to pick up the remote. Their conversations no longer have comfortable silences, but are instead filled with quiet moments because Rin can’t talk over the lump in his throat. And much later, when Rin lies next to Sousuke on his futon, he feels his body drift into the waves of heat coming off of his friend’s body.

 

_Stop it._ He turns his body away. _Stop it._ He chastises again. This didn’t make sense. None of it did. Rin was extremely comfortable with his relationship with Sousuke. They were best bros, completely at ease with each other’s company. They knew exactly where they stood with each other so now why…. Why were Sousuke’s smiles making his chest ache, and the sight of him laying back in his underwear with his muscular chest rising and falling, sending throbbing pains to Rin’s crotch? Sousuke chooses this moment to turn in his sleep towards Rin. Rin can feel his breath splash the back of his neck, and his unclothed and slightly sweaty front just ghosts along Rin’s back. It’s a divine punishment. It has to be. Punishment for the time Rin cheated off of Sousuke’s maths test and didn’t tell him. Punishment for when Sousuke had told him that he was afraid of strange cats and he had blurted it out to the whole class. It has to be. Because Rin can’t fathom any other explanation for why he wants to roll his neck back against Sousuke’s soft lips and feel his strong arms pull him in closer until he can feel Sousuke’s hips push against his ass.

 

In a flurry, Rin throws himself off of the futon. His breathing is labored and his knuckles are white. Sousuke still sleeps soundly. Rin catches his breath in desperate gasps. He harshly brushes his hands through his hair. _This is bad._ He grabs the hair at the sides of his temples. _This is really bad._

 

He needed help. God he needed help. But Sousuke had always been his first point of call when it came to sex or relationship problems. So obviously he was out. Without really thinking, Rin grabs his phone and begins to hammer out a message to Haru. Rin’s fingers tremble over the keys until he finally remembers something. He lets out a groan and deletes the message. _That’s right. Ask your asexual friend for advice on your rampant sexual attraction to your oldest friend. Brilliant. Idiot._ Rin skims through his contacts and freezes on one that makes a lot of sense. Rei. He presses the call button and waits. It rings several times. Rin’s about to get annoyed when he catches the time lit up in Sousuke’s microwave. 1:37 am. _Ah shit_. He starts to pull the phone away from his ear when a tinny voice sounds.

“Rin?” The breathy, murmured voice comes through.

“Hey, hey, sorry. I didn’t realize what time it was.” Rin apologises in shushed tones. “It’s alright. Go back…”

“Are you ok?” Rei’s voice is stronger now. Sounding more like himself.

“I’m uh… yeah.” It’s a horrible lie.

“Where are you? Do you need me to come pick you up?”

“No, I’m fine. I’m just at Sousuke’s.” Rin forces a smile and hopes Rei can hear it. There’s a long pause on the other end. Rin feels terrible, but he doesn’t want to hang up just yet.

“So… what’s up?” Rei still sounds concerned.

“Are you uh… Are you doing anything tomorrow?”

On his end, Rei can hear the uncertainty in Rin’s voice. His mind is already racing with the millions of different reasons Rin could have called him. Calculating all the variables and pieces of information he knows about Rin to come up with a likely list of things that may be wrong. Rin’s question sits at the front of his mind. He actually did have plans with Nagisa for the next day, but he could reschedule those. His boyfriend would probably whine, but he’d understand.

“No, I’m perfectly free. Why?” _Sorry, Nagisa._

“You wanna hang out?”

“Just you and me?”

“Yeah,” Rin laughs. “It’s been a while.”

That’s all the evidence Rei needs to know that this problem _definitely_ involves Sousuke.

“Sure thing. Noon? Outside the arcade?”

“See you there.”

It is a sleepless night for Rin.

 

When they meet up the next day, Rei notes that Rin looks more disheveled and his hair is tied up in a ponytail. Yup, this was definitely a Sousuke problem.

“Hey, man.” Rin stands when Rei approaches and lightly claps him on the shoulder.

“What are you up for?”

Rei crosses his arms and quirks an eyebrow at Rin.

“Oh… I think you and I both know _exactly_ why I’m here.”

Rin grins challengingly, baring his sharp teeth.

“Bring it pretty boy.”

 

They pop their tokens into the Dance Dance Revolution machines and begin to scroll through the songs. They settle on ‘99 Red Balloons’, then Rei toggles the difficulty.

“Should I go easy on you, Rin-san?” He smirks, resting the difficulty on “intermediate”. Rin snorts.

“It is rude to belittle your senpai.” Rin switches the difficulty to “expert” and hits enter.

 

Rin and Rei have an unconventional relationship. Even though Rin would usually regard Haru as his rival, he tended to compete more against Rei these days. Despite being a year younger, Rei was usually the one breaking Rin’s records at academics and athletics. Out of all the third years, Rin had always been the best at maths and the sciences, but now Rei was making his grades look pathetic. Rei was also one of the few of his friends who could keep up, and maybe even outpace him, on their runs together. Rin often saw reflections of himself in Rei’s passion, persistence, and crippling bouts of self doubt. It was because of this that Rin sort of became Rei’s default guide and role model, rather than just another competitor.

 

Dance Dance Revolution had become another strange way for the two to compete with each other. With the music thudding and arrows zooming across the screen in front of them, their feet were but a blur on the dance pads. Rin played like he was the protagonist in some urban dance film. All hips and heavy stomps. Rei was equally impressive, but in his own… very _Rei_ way. He kept his spine ram-rod straight, and his legs snapped out from underneath him like an Irish dancer. Sometimes he and Rin would wink at each other and perform the chorus in perfect synchronization if there was a crowd gathered to watch. The song ends and they watch the scores flash on the screen. Rei wins by 10 points.

“Yes!” He exclaims.

“That was a warm up!” Rin throws off his over-shirt and tightens his ponytail. Rei smiles haughtily and slips off his button up as well.

“Another?” He pushes up his red frames. Rin slaps another token into the machine as his answer.

 

They play through eight different songs, each time trying to outperform the other. Rin creeps ahead of Rei on the K-pop tracks, having the advantage of maybe having them all on his ipod, but Rei consistently wins any other tracks. His quick eyes and quicker reactions are well suited to the game.

 

“Another!” Rin demands, leaning on the sidebars panting.

“You serious?” Rei leans next to him. The burn in the back of his throat is starting to taste kind of metallic. Their grips on the metal bars are weak and slippery as their sweat drips off of them onto the smooth metal.

“C’mon,” Rin pushes back his soaking fringe. Rei shakes his head.

“I need a drink.” He pants. Rin’s about to egg him on some more, but then he stops because Rei might actually give in. And Rin doesn’t think he can _actually_ go again.

They gather up the shirts and glasses they’ve taken off and head towards a juice bar. Rei orders a large green juice, filled with kale, lemongrass, carrots and apples. Rin almost gags when he sees it. He instead chooses to go with a “protein booster”. Green tea, bananas, mango and oranges, as well as protein powder. The cold juice feels good on their hot, over-worked throats. Even though the sun is blaring, they choose to walk to the park, where they sit themselves underneath a large canopied magnolia tree.

 

“So…” Rei starts. “Are you ever going to tell me what you brought me out here for?” He smiles around the straw in his mouth. Rin shrugs.

“Can’t I just wanna hang out with my cute kohai?”

Rei almost chokes with laughter.

“No.”

“Suppose not.” Rin mumbles. He leans back on his elbows. Dapples of light come through the leaves of the tree above them, but they don’t manage to heat up the cool undergrowth underneath his hands. He breathes in the earthy smelling air and listens to the sound of nearby children playing.

“Rei…” Hi voice is barely above a whisper. “How did you uh…?” He struggles to find the words. “What’s it…When did you know you were gay?”

Rei almost chokes on his juice for the second time in five minutes.

“Uhhhhh…” A deep blush creeps on his cheeks. “I don’t… I think when I realized I liked boys? Sorry. I don’t really know how to answer that.”

Rin sighs and leans forward, resting his elbows on his knees. What kind of answer had he expected? Rei tries to push forward. Clearly he has some kind of information his friend needs.

“I mean…” Rei laughs. “It was pretty scary. Someone once told me that you don’t ask yourself ‘Am I gay?’ the same way you might ask yourself ‘Did I leave the iron on?’. You ask it the same way you might ask ‘do I have cancer?’ or ‘am I pregnant?’. You’re just filled with so much panic and fear, like the answer might push you off a cliff.” He laughs darkly to himself. “I remember setting up experiments and logging my reactions in a journal, and _then_ I would perform statistical analysis on those reactions.” He laughs, and Rin has to join him. It was a very _Rei_ way of obtaining an answer to a seemingly simple question. But Rei had always been his own person, going about things 100% true to his identity and morals. He had come out to his friends just in his first year of high school. Who the hell did that? Rin had to admire the shit out of him.

 

“I can’t believe you’re out in high school.” Rin muses. “You might be the bravest asshole I know,” He laughs to himself. “How the hell do you do that?”

Rei beams. He throws his head back and laughs triumphantly in his trademark way.

“I’m their star academic student and track athlete!” He throws his arms out wide. “I’m likely going to represent them nationally with my grades AND in sports. They can’t touch me! If I burn, their whole reputation crumbles.” Rei actually starts to look a little maniacal, like he relishes this realization. “That school has to protect me, because I am their future. Even if some kids wanted to mess with me, teachers would step in immediately. Parents would be called. Expulsions would be dealt out.” He adjusts his glasses with a loud sigh. His wide smile tapers into a small grin and his eyes become downcast. “I don’t think you guys know this… but you actually helped a lot too.”

Rin narrows his eyes at his friend, not quite sure what he means. Rei shakes his head.

“I’m serious. I think some guys… there was almost an altercation, but once they found out I hung out with you and Sousuke?” He smiles. “I never received any kind of trouble from them again.”

Rin’s eyes widen. His jaw goes slack. He never knew that. He never knew that anyone had _ever_ had a problem with Rei. And he especially never knew that his friendship with him had protected him in some way.

“I’m sorry.” Rin focuses on the ground, at a loss for words.

“What for?” Rei laughs. A quiet moment yawns between them. Rei turns his face up to look at the sky. A few clouds dot the horizon and a warm summer breeze whips his soft hair around his face. A hushed laugh sounds from the back of his throat.

“It’s funny,” He scratches at his cheek. He looks for the most delicate words he can. “I initially thought it was weird that people would stop harassing me just because I was friends with you… because I thought for a long time… that you might’ve liked guys too.” His sharp violet eyes pierce into Rin’s gaze. Rin tries to turn his harsh intake of breath into a casual laugh.

“Oh my god, what?”

Rei just shrugs. “I dunno. I just had little alarms in my head when I hung out with you and Sousuke.”

“Sousuke too?!”

Rei just smiles. Rin tries to smile back, but goose bumps are rising over his skin. Despite Rei being the perfect and most accepting person to talk about this stuff with, he still feels a sense of dead and fear that won’t allow him to admit to anything.

 

“Rin,” Rei’s voice is soft. His expression is concerned. “Did something happen with Sousuke?”

Rin stops breathing. His hearing fails him and the world becomes silent, but for a dull ringing. His leg muscles twitch with want to jump up and run. In a strange defense mechanism, he begins to laugh. Like it’s the most absurd thing he’s ever heard. But when Rei’s expression doesn’t break, he finds himself dissolving into long held sigh. He takes his ponytail out, only to comb his fingers painfully through his hair and tie it up again.

“I dunno. Maybe.” He mumbles. Rei doesn’t push him to go on. He doesn’t have to. “I just might… I dunno.” He laughs again. “Like he’s really hot right? Like you can see that, right?” Panicked laughs rack through his body. Rei nods patiently.

“Yes, Sousuke-san is rather attractive.”

“Oh god,” Rin hunches over, burying his head in his hands. “He’s so hot. He’s so fucking hot. When did this happen?” He mumbles despairingly. Rei is glad that Rin can’t see him roll his eyes, but he smiles. It’s a strange sense of relief and camaraderie to know that one of his friends might be going through something similar to what he did.

“Rin-san,” He starts, gently. “I am going to give you three pieces of advice. These have all been obtained through rigorous years of data collection and analysis. Number 1…!” He holds up one finger. Rin peeks through his hands at him. “And this is the most important one: Do not panic. Fear will cause you to doubt, which will only lead you to alienating your friends and yourself. You are always going to be loved and supported.” The cheesiness of the advice makes Rin groan, but the lurches in his stomach quiet down all the same.

“Number 2!” Rei continues. “And you are not going to like this one... you should talk to Sousuke.” Rin groans louder, but Rei perseveres. “ _If_ you think you have feelings for him, then you should let him know. Otherwise you could become so frightened and defensive around him, that he’ll worry he’s done something to upset you. If he knows, then you can work through this together. And finally, number 3!” Rei’s eyes glint mischievously. He wears a grin that could rival Nagisa’s.

“…I’m still not convinced that Sousuke’s straight.”

 

They part ways and Rin feels marginally better. It still scares the shit out of him that he could develop feelings for someone he’s known almost his whole life, but the panic has subsided to a dull confusion. It still doesn’t quite make sense to him, but he just accepts that it makes no sense. Even though it still keeps him up at night, it’s nice knowing that Rei has some idea what he’s going through. They don’t have the same level of closeness that he and Sousuke do, but he knows that Rei will cover for him if he needs to duck out of a rehearsal or needs someone to send texts filled with expletives and exclamation marks.

 

But so far, Rin manages to keep his reactions in check surprisingly well. He starts to treat it just like when he would have a crush on some girl in his class. Sure it made his stomach jump, but he didn’t become a bumbling idiot. He could still converse with her and treat their relationship as platonic, which is what he does with Sousuke. Rehearsals for their band are surprisingly easy. Rin shocks himself at how much he laughs through them, feeling weightless and carefree.

“Sousuke, you need to work more on your stage presence. You shouldn’t be upstaged by your lead guitarist.” Rin barks through a toothy smile. Sousuke sighs and twirls his microphone stand.

“What do you want me to do?”

“You should be irresistible. Everyone in the room should want to have sex with you.” Rin prods Sousuke in the chest with his index finger. Sousuke smirks, but doesn’t back away.

“I’m pretty sure everyone already does.” He purrs. Rin realises how close their faces are. Somehow, he swallows down the shivers threatening to make his voice tremble. He looks up at Sousuke through his lashes with a crooked smile.

“Well, I’m easy,” He murmurs. “But the audience will be much harder to impress.” He smirks and pulls away. Now it was Sousuke’s turn to blush. He lets out a breath he didn’t realise he was holding. _What the fuck was that?_

 

The innocent flirting continues throughout rehearsals, until Sousuke is a confused, flustered mess. He’s used to the sarcastic flirting. The large groans and roll of the eyes when Rin says “Oh baby, clearly you’re the one for me.”. What he isn’t used to are the innocent touches and small comments whispered softly so that only he can hear them. Things that are said completely humourless, until Rin seems to regain some sense of himself and chuckles. Sousuke drops his pencil, but when he bends down to pick it over, he can just make out the hushed sound of Rin whispering “Nice.” behind him. In the summer heat he’ll pull out a water bottle covered in condensation, and he can feel Rin’s eyes boring into him. Chasing the droplets of water as they slide under his fingers and down his throat.

 

These small interactions continue throughout rehearsals, until Sousuke has to excuse himself to go to the bathroom. He locks the door, tugging on it to make sure it’s really locked. He rubs his face with an exasperated groan. He can feel the heat on his cheeks and the smiles trying to warm his otherwise stony expression. He sighs again, and again, until his sighs are held and gain strength into a yell, and he flails his limbs wildly. He hates it. He hates it so much. Almost seven long years of repressed feelings are surging through his body with new vigour. Goddamn, Rin. How dare he salvage these slumbering desires, laying dormant in his chest. Sousuke splashes some water on his face, adjusts his shirt that he’s been wringing his hands through, and returns to the rehearsal.

 

Work is Sousuke’s personal space. He doesn’t have to think about paying bills, what he’s going make for dinner, or his relationship with infuriating redheads. He loses himself in the movement of ink over skin and the steady thrum up his right arm from the tattoo machine. He’s engrossed in a mandala design he’s making on a girl’s thigh when his boss taps his shoulder.

“Sous,”

“Mmmm?”

“When you’ve finished this you’ve got a potential client in the waiting room. He asked for you by name.”

Sousuke looks at his teacher curiously. He’s still listed as an apprentice on their roster, and while he has been excelling and gaining a bit of a reputation in the community, customers still tended to avoid anyone with the title “apprentice” attached to their name. Sousuke finishes his work on the girl, goes through the lecture of how to look after her tattoo, and cleans his space. When he goes to the waiting room to see who has asked for him, his eyes widen at the person who sits relaxing on their sofa with his hands behind his head.

“Rin?” Sousuke breathes. Rin smiles his wide grin and walks past Sousuke towards his tattoo area like he owns the place. He plops down in the leather chair.

“You got a few hours?” He slips off his t-shirt. Sousuke chances a look at Rin’s torso, but it’s brief, and he’s too confused to really enjoy it.

“What are you doing here?”

Rin shrugs. “I said that if I was ever gonna get a tattoo, you would be the one to do it.”

“But… now?!” Sousuke combs his hand through his damp hair. “You don’t want to wait for me to get more experience?!” He’s flattered. He truly is. Flattered and terrified.

“I know what I want though.” Rin smirks. “Why not now? You moved on to colours and shading when you still should have been practicing on melons.” He laughs.

“I want you to do it.” He says. It’s so soft and honest that it makes Sousuke’s gut ache. He groans.

“I can’t talk you out of it? Goro’s really good and I can get you a discount if…” But Rin shakes his head. He’s the most stubborn person Sousuke knows, and his mind is already made up.

“Fiiiiiine,” Sousuke sighs. He could never say no to Rin. Not really. He pulls up his stool.

“What do you want?” He asks. Rin looks practically giddy. “A sleeve?”

Rin nods.

“Alright, what kind? Do you have a design in mind?”

“Yup!” Rin’s red eyes sparkle. Sousuke just raises an eyebrow at him, silently asking his friend to continue. “I want one like that.” And Rin points to Sousuke’s left. Sousuke looks past him to see what he’s looking at, then notices that he’s pointing directly at his tattooed arm.

“What?” His eyes dart between his arm and Rin. “You can’t have my tattoo. You gotta do something different.” Sousuke blusters. He loves Rin, but this is _his_ tattoo dammit.

“Tch, calm down.” Rin starts to pull a piece of paper out from the back pocket of his jeans. He spreads it out on the side table, and Sousuke can clearly see it’s a pencil drawing. He pulls up his stool to have a closer look. It’s definitely Nanase’s work. It’s another coral reef, but different to his own. There’s an anemone and a cluster of tiny clownfish in the foreground. There’s a moray eel peeking out from his cave, and in the center, instead of a gentle whale shark, there’s a looming tiger shark.

“I just really liked yours.” Rin lightly touches his tattooed arm. “Like… _really_ like it.” A shiver runs up Sousuke’s spine. “If it’s too close to yours, I don’t have to get it.” Rin smiles sheepishly. Sousuke gently smiles back.

“No it’s ok. We can match.”

“BFF tattoos?” Rin smirks. Sousuke groans.

“Jesus, it sounds lame when you say it.” He sighs. “There’s just one problem.” Rin’s brows knit together.

“My boss did my tattoo. _That’s_ why it’s so good. I haven’t done anything like this.” He shakes his head.

“You can do it.” Rin states. Sousuke shakes his head again.

“I don’t think you understand how this works.”

“Shhh.” Rin holds his finger up to Sousuke’s mouth. “You. Can do it.”

Sousuke glares at him. Rin’s eyes sparkle back.

“You’re a fucking idiot.”

And Rin knows he’s won.

 

Sousuke sets out making a stencil and marking it on Rin’s arm. He then loads his machine with the ink colour he’s going to use to line everything.

“Ready?”

Rin nods.

Sousuke delicately marks his friend’s skin with confident strokes. He tries to be as gentle as he can, but he can’t help but notice the tears prickling the sides of Rin’s eyes.

“Don’t cry on me now.” He teases.

“I’m not.” Rin grits his teeth, but as Sousuke moves the machine over his bony wrist he noticeably winces and some tears fall. “Shut up.”

“It’s ok. Everyone does it.” Sousuke reassures. He takes the time to pause and rub a soothing hand over Rin’s shoulders. Rin’s muscles stop contracting and he sighs. His eyes slip closed and he leans back in the chair. Sousuke watches the way his throat bobs when he swallows. Even though he is incredibly scared that he’ll ruin his best friend’s beautiful skin, the amount of trust that has been placed in his hands gives him a little thrill. His eyes hurt from focusing so hard and his knuckles ache from how tightly he’s been gripping the machine. He’d be lying to himself if he didn’t admit that he long fantasised about marking Rin’s skin, but it had always been by less _permanent_ means.

“Ah, fuck.” Rin sighs. He opens his eyes again. Flexing his fingers and rolling his shoulder, he nods. “I’m good. Keep going.”

Sousuke nods and the metallic hum of the tattoo machine fills the room again.

 

Their sessions continue over the week, as Rin comes back to get his lines finished, then flat colours, before finally moving on to the shading and details. Despite the cool air that fills the studio, he can see that Sousuke frequently starts sweating towards the end of their sessions. When he turns the machine off his hands are shaking and he has to flex his fingers and stretch his knuckles.

“Hey,” Rin touches his shoulder. “You’re doing great. Really. I love it so much.” He smiles. Sousuke leans exhausted into his touch.

“It’s not even finished yet.”

“Then just imagine how amazing it’s going to be!” Rin smirks. Sousuke shakes his head at his hopeless friend.

 

During their last session, when Sousuke is adding the reflections of light through water across the tiger shark’s back and the sea floor, his boss pops in to check on him.

“Sous, you still working on that thing?” He walks over to see what this thing is his apprentice has been spending so much of his time on. He recognizes the red head in the chair, but hasn’t been formally introduced.

“Yeah, I’m almost finished.” Sousuke turns the machine off and pushes himself away to give his boss a clear view. “How’s it look?”

His boss narrows his eyes at the almost finished sleeve. He steps closer until his face is inches away. His eyes trace over the bold colours and take in all the small textures Sousuke has managed to create.

“You did this?” He raises an eyebrow and points at Rin’s arm.

“…Yeah?” Sousuke sounds nervous. “What are you thinking?”

His boss scratches his chin thoughtfully.

“I’m thiiinking….” He pulls Sousuke over next to Rin, and holds Sousuke’s tattooed arm up against Rin’s freshly done one. “Yup. Definitely. I’m mad as hell.” Sousuke’s eyes widen. Oh god he had messed up. He should never have bitten off such a huge task.

“Look at this shit!” His boss makes Rin look at the two tattoos side by side. “How is yours better than mine?!”

Rin grins smugly. Sousuke almost chokes.

“No it’s not. I could never…” But his boss levels him with a hard stare.

“Stop undermining yourself.”

“Yeah, Sousuke.” Rin jabs him in the ribs. He wears the largest shit-eating grin Sousuke has ever seen on him.

“Well,” His boss sighs and stands upright. “I better let you finish. You know… so you can destroy my reputation further.”

“Stop it.”

“Just never leave, Sousuke. That’s all I’m saying.” And his boss walks out of Sousuke’s work space. Rin smiles smugly down at him.

“I _told_ you.”

“Shutup.” Sousuke nudges him. “I could still screw it up.”

 

When Sousuke finishes the remaining details, he lets Rin stand up and have a look at the finished product in the mirror. He keeps his hand on the small of his back, just in case. Rin could get a bit shaky after long sessions. Rin appraises his arm in the mirror, bending it and rotating it to see all the angles. He looks at the incredibly bright blues and greens that Sousuke has used, and the depth he’s managed to create on the flat surface of his arm. He marvels at how sharp everything looks. Rin then examines his arm and how it pairs with the rest of his body. Standing shirtless in front of the mirror with his new sleeve? Yeah… he thought he looked pretty hot.

“Jeez, Sou.” He whispers. “It’s amazing.”

“You like it?” Sousuke smiles and crosses his arms.

“Oh man,” Rin’s voice is hushed. A huge smile creeps across his face, before he leaps back into the chair again.

“You have to sign it!” He demands.

“What?”

“I’m serious! Sign it. You’re an artist. Sign your work!”

“You shouldn’t get people’s names on you.” Sousuke warns, but he fires up his machine again.

“It’s ok if it’s you.”

This makes Sousuke’s heart plummet into his stomach. His hands tremble, but calm down when they press the machine to Rin’s skin. He signs his name on the inside of his wrist in small, almost intangible writing. _Sousuke Yamazaki._

 

He wraps Rin’s arm in plastic and gives him a lecture on how to take care of it. Rin rolls his eyes, having heard this several times now.

“Yeah, yeah.”

“I’m serious, don’t let it get direct sun. Which is gonna be hard for you because you seem to be so hot all the time.” Sousuke of course is just referring to the fact that it’s the middle of summer, and Rin likes to wear sleeveless shirts, but that doesn’t stop Rin from smirking and waggling his eyebrows.

“You think I’m hot?”

Now it was Sousuke’s turn to roll his eyes.

“Just look after it. I’m gonna have to ice my hand when I get home because of it.”

Rin smiles and looks up at Sousuke through his lashes. He reaches out and gently clasps his friend’s wrist.

“Thank you.”

Sousuke resists the urge to move his hand up and intertwine his fingers with Rin’s.

“Come to my place tomorrow. I’ll make you dinner. And I still have to take those photos for my portfolio, remember?” He rubs his finger against the inside of Sousuke’s wrist. Sousuke’s eyes flick down to the point of contact with some confusion. His stomach lurches with anticipation.

“Uh yeah. Of course.”

 

When Sousuke arrives at Rin’s house the next day, he’s freshly showered and there might be a dab of cologne on his skin. It’s stupid, and he’s not sure why he’s done it. Nothing’s happened for six years, and Rin has proven his heterosexuality time and time again, but still…. He can’t ignore the odd interactions lately. He can’t help the tremor of hope that’s been coursing through him the past few days. He lets himself into Rin’s house and is surprised at how quiet it is. Usually he’d hear Gou watching some drama in the living room, or their mother would be chatting on the phone with some friend.

“Rin?”

“In my room!” A muffled voice comes from upstairs. Sousuke follows it to Rin’s room, where he’s cleared a large space in the middle of it. A grey sheet has been hung on the wall, and makeshift photography lights are scattered around. Rin shuffles around, spreading clothes on his bed and prepping the lights correctly. Sousuke’s eyes are immediately drawn to the startling tattoo on his arm. Rin already had spacers and piercings in his ears, as well as his rich maroon hair, but now with his tattoo, Sousuke almost forgets what a soft crybaby he is. He has to laugh at the contrast.

“What?” Rin stands defensively.

“Your new look suits you.” Sousuke closes the door behind him. Rin beams and places his hands on his hips.

“Just admit that I’m the hottest thing you’ve ever seen.”

“Not possible. I’ve looked in the mirror.”

Rin bursts out laughing at Sousuke’s deadpan reply and he gently touches him on the forearm.

“Even I have to admit, you’ve got me there.” Rin sighs.

_There it is again._ Sousuke thinks. He narrows his eyes at Rin, whose turned away now to continue laying out Sousuke’s clothes.

“Let’s get started.” He claps his hands together.

 

 Rin dresses Sousuke in the formal look first. The crisp white shirt rolled up to his elbows and the fitted vest look just as good on him as the day he first tried them on. Rin gives Sousuke a pair of leather dress shoes to wear with it. He also runs some product through Sousuke’s hair, in an attempt to tame his bedhead. With a dusting of foundation across his cheeks and nose to even out his skin tone, he is photograph ready. Rin takes several photos, getting Sousuke to change up his poses.

“Don’t smile.” He teases. “Look aloof.”

Sousuke’s cold expression suits the camera well, and all of his photos turn out absurdly well. Rin doubts he could have gotten a better model even if he had contacted an agency.

“Alright, strip. Next one.”

 

Sousuke starts to pull on the winter clothes. The charcoal sweater with the high collar, and the long navy coat with the over sized hood. Rin takes several photos with the hood down, focusing on Sousuke’s overall silhouette. He fills out the coat with his broad shoulders and his pale skin contrasts well with the dark fabrics. Satisfied with those shots, Rin flips the hood of Sousuke’s coat upwards and raises the collar of his sweater. He’s inches from Sousuke’s face, carefully arranging the garments so that they frame Sousuke’s startling turquoise eyes. Rin, with his hands in Sousuke’s hair and all of his attention fixated on him, feels heat start to pool in his gut and extremities. He lets out a breath and goes back to the camera. He zooms his lense in close, focusing entirely on Sousuke’s bright eyes. He clicks the camera several times, before pausing to check out the results. He smiles down at the shots he’s taken.

“Wanna see?”

Sousuke nods. Shucking off his hot coat, he looks over Rin’s shoulder at the screen on his camera.

“Jeez,” He sighs.

“Look how pretty you are.” Rin laughs. Sousuke chuckles behind him. “I get to look at that every day.” Rin continues under his breath. Sousuke balks a little at the comment. There wasn’t anything sarcastic about it. Testing the boundaries, he leans forward and rests his chin on Rin’s shoulder. Rin tenses a bit, but doesn’t pull away.

“I uh… I like this one.” He’s stopped on a photo where Sousuke is looking directly at the camera. His bright eyes hold small flecks of light and look the same colour as aquamarine crystals.

“I like it too.” And Sousuke watches the noticeable blush that creeps up Rin’s cheeks when his breath fans against the side of his neck.

“Ok,” Rin shivers and pulls away. “Last outfit.”

 

Sousuke slips into the criminally tight pants and Rin swallows at how they hug his hips and ass. He then slips on the tank top, with the deep cut v-neck that exposes his collarbones and pectoral muscles. He shuffles into another vest, this one a lighter jersey material, and pops the loose beanie on his head. He begins to move in front of the sheet when Rin stops him.

“Hold up,” He laughs. “We’re gonna have fun with this one.” He sits Sousuke down on a chair and begins to delicately place leather bracelets onto his wrists. Some of them are studded, while others are just simple strands. Rin then changes the simple studs in Sousuke’s ears with chunky, dark wood earrings.

“Having fun dressing me up?” Sousuke smirks.

“Far too much fun.” Rin sneers back. “Last touch.” He flips open a small box with piles of makeup in it. Sousuke eyes it skeptically.

“What’s that?”

“Shhhhhh,” Rin leans forward. He places his knee in between Sousuke’s thighs so that he can get closer to Sousuke’s face. “I’m creating.” He lightly laughs. He dabs a small brush in a black eye shadow and brushes it over Sousuke’s eyes. He then follows and blends it with a grey blue colour. He finishes it off with a bit of smudged eyeliner, to bring more dimension and focus to the shape of Sousuke’s eyes. Finally, he runs a pencil through his eyesbrows to help frame his face. Sousuke finds it all irritating and unnecessary. Rin slips his fingers underneath Sousuke’s chin and angles his face upwards.

“Look at me.” He whispers. And Sousuke looks at him.

 

Rin feels like he’s been punched in the gut. Everything aches, and he can’t get enough air in his lungs. His eyes travel from Sousuke’s handsome eyes, to his soft pink lips. He stares at them. It does not go unnoticed by Sousuke.

“Should we uhhh…?” He starts. Rin’s drawn out of his head.

“Oh, yeah.” He breathes. “Of course.” He lifts himself from Sousuke’s lap and goes behind his camera again. Sousuke poses in various ways. He crosses his arms, or juts out one hip. At one point his bites his thumbnail and gives the camera a smile that shoots straight to Rin’s crotch. A few more shots, then Rin has to pause. Sousuke’s beanie has started to slip to one side and it needs readjusting.

“Like this?” Sousuke roughly pushes the hat forward, effectively ruining how his hair lies.

“No, shit, Sous…”

“Or this?” He pushes it back. It makes things worse.

“Gah, stop it.” Rin rushes forward and slaps his hands away. He grabs the beanie off his head, and readjusts his hair. Sousuke laughs mischievously at him, like he messed it up just to piss Rin off. Rin groans and places the beanie back on Sousuke’s head properly.

“Honestly…” He sighs. He looks up, ready to chide Sousuke, but freezes when he sees his face. His hands are still on either side of Sousuke’s shoulders, and his smile is wide and blinding. He looks down on Rin with such warmth and fondness, that Rin has to tighten his grip on his shoulders.

“You’re uh…” Rin swallows around his dry mouth. “You’re doing this on purpose.” Sousuke stops laughing and narrows his gaze.

“Doing what?” His smooth, low voice rings in Rin’s ears. He doesn’t answer for some time, breathing too heavily and pulse thudding too hard to get anything intelligible out. He tightens his grip on Sousuke’s shoulders and stares at his mouth once more. Sousuke steps forward and relishes the little gasp that sounds from Rin’s lips.

“Always…” He trembles when Sousuke places his hand on his hip. Soarks shoot up Rin’s whole side. “Always trying my patience.” He looks up at Sousuke with pleading eyes and moves one if his hands to the side of Sousuke’s neck. Sousuke pulls him in closer.

“Sorry.”

 

And he leans down and kisses his best friend. The electricity that fires through his nerves is immediate, and his limbs violently shiver. Rin’s lips are warm and slightly chapped, but he can feel his hands on his shoulders pulling him in for more. Rin feels like his legs are going to drop out from under him. He still hasn’t closed his eyes, like he isn’t sure what’s happening yet. Then Sousuke starts to move his lips. Rin’s mind freezes. Everything goes cold. _What am I doing? What is_ Sousuke _doing?!_ Fear consumes him and he violently pushes Sousuke away. Sousuke stumbles backwards. He rubs the back of his hand over his mouth and stares at Rin like a wounded animal.

“Sorry,” He gasps. The pain and confusion on Sousuke’s face rips Rin’s insides to shreds. “I thought you wanted…” _Me._ He wants to finish, but the words don’t come. Only the tears prickling at the sides of his eyes. This was wrong. This was all wrong. What had happened? The details are all gone because all of Rin’s synapses are firing at once, reducing his whole body to a numb, overwhelmed, mess. Rin can’t get a grip on himself, and with Sousuke staring at him with a teary, betrayed look on his face, Rin feels himself falling off the edge. He does the only think he can think to do.

 

He turns and runs.

 

“Rin!” Sousuke lunges after him. _He was stupid. So, SO stupid!_ But his new shoes slip on Rin’s hardwood floor. By the time he rights himself, he can hear Rin’s old van peeling out of the driveway and down the street. Sousuke leaps down the flight of stairs and runs after the van until he’s winded. Panting, he leans over and tries not to vomit. _How could I do this?_ The tears start to fall down his cheeks. _Rin would NEVER want me. Why would I EVER…_ He pulls the hair at the sides of his head. He rips his beanie off and throws it to the ground. He wants to launch himself off a cliff. He wants to crawl under his bed and never come back out again. But then he remembers the frightened look on Rin’s face. How his eyes had gone wide and his fists balled by his side. _Fucking idiot._ He picks his beanie back up and tugs it onto his head. _I must’ve really scared him._ He chuckles darkly to himself. Of course Rin would terrified. How could he not be? The person that he’s opened up to most over the years, who was supposed to support him through everything, had just assaulted him. Sousuke moans and derides himself. _Fucking selfish_. He had seen something in Rin only because he had so _desperately_ wanted it to be there. He had put his needs over Rin’s, something he never thought possible. Sousuke stares down the road, fixating on the last place he saw Rin’s van. His insides grow cold. He can’t leave it like this. If nothing else, he owes Rin an apology and an explanation. After that, he’ll leave Rin alone if that’s what he wants. Sousuke hops into his old Toyota sedan and drives to the only place he thinks Rin would go at a time like this.

 

“Nanase!” He pounds on Haru’s door. “Nanase, open up!”

Haru runs to the door, yanking it open. His bright blue eyes look around Sousuke’s body for some kind of emergency. He thinks something must be wrong with the way that Sousuke bolts into his apartment, and the fact that it’s… well Sousuke. He could count the number of times the two of them had been alone together on his fingers.

“Where is he? Rin!” Sousuke runs around the apartment. “Rin come out!” At this, Haru rolls his eyes and visibly relaxes. Ah, so he was just looking for Rin then. Understandable.

“He’s not here.” Haru states.

“What?” And the desperation in Sousuke’s voice startles him. He notices the red rims around Sousuke’s eyes…. And is he wearing makeup?.

“No, he has to be…” Sousuke does another lap of the apartment, whether to look for Rin or burn off his excess energy he isn’t sure.

“Have you seen him? Has he called you? I need…”

Haru stares at Sousuke. The larger man had had fights with Rin before, but not to the point that he had ever become emotionally distraught. He was panicking. Rin had obviously run away, which was unusual. When confronted with a fight or flight situation, Rin would always choose fight. What on earth could Sousuke have done to…

“Oh no.” Haru breathes. “You finally did it.”

“What?” Sousuke pants.

“Did you tell him you love him?”

“What?!” Sousuke steps back. His voice is high and breathy. This was impossible. He never told anyone how he felt about Rin. “I don’t… I don’t feel that way…”

“Tch.” Haru scoffs. “Still lying.” He sighs.

“I’m… I’m not!” Because Sousuke can’t bear to admit it. He’s been in too deep for too long.

“You hated me.” Haru blinks.

“What? I never hated you. Why does everyone think that?” Sousuke doesn’t have time to deal with this. Haru’s cryptic riddles could wait for another time. He has to find Rin.

“You hated me, but I can tell you exactly when you started being nicer to me.” Haru levels him with a harsh gaze. Sousuke looks back with disinterest.

“When I came out to you as asexual.” Haru steps forward. “ _That’s_ when you started being nice to me. Because I wasn’t a threat to you anymore.”

Sousuke crosses his arms defensively. He knew very well when he started liking Haru more, but he hoped he hadn’t been so transparent about it.

“I know. So stop lying to me.” Haru’s icy stare pierces straight through him. He had been reading Sousuke like a book all along. And Sousuke had thought he had been so strong. That no one could possibly tell. He shakes his head at his patheticness and groans. He rubs his hands over his face.

“I messed up, Haru. I messed up so bad.” He’s on the verge of crying again, but he’ll be _damned_ before he lets Haru see him cry.

Haru isn’t really the consoling type, but he doesn’t ignore the situation either.

“I ruined everything.”

“I’m sure you didn’t.”

“It’s pretty bad.” Sousuke sighs. “God, I need to find him.”

He looks emotionally wrecked. Haru sighs and crosses his arms.

“He’s not here… but I think I know where he could be.” He sighs. Sousuke waits patiently for his directions.

“Go get the idiot.”

 

Sousuke pulls up in the parking lot of their old high school. The summer sky has started to darken into shades of purple and russet, and small stars start to appear on the horizon. It’s odd being at their school again. It feels like they were just there yesterday, and also like it’s been years. Sousuke runs across the courtyard to the large cherry blossom tree on the far side of the school. He can make out a figure underneath the tree, leaning against a chain link fence.

“Hey,” Sousuke slows his jog to a slow walk. Rin’s eyes flick up as he approaches.

“…hey.” His gaze doesn’t linger on Sousuke for long. He resumes looking at his feet and swinging lightly on the fence. Sousuke isn’t sure where he stands. He feels like he has a million things to say, but in their rush to get out of his mouth, none of them come. Why hadn’t he rehearsed more on the drive over?

“Look uh…” He keeps his eyes downcast and leans on the fence next to Rin. He’s careful to make sure that they don’t touch.

“About before… I’m sorry.” He fiddles with a loose ring on the fence and closes his eyes. “I was confused, there was a lot going on…” He sighs. “It won’t happen agai…”

“Do you like me?” Rin’s turned towards him now, and the question makes him jump.

“Wha… What do you mean?” He finds the strength to meet Rin’s gaze. “You’re my best friend.” His voice is soft and genuine. Rin’s brows knit together and he licks his lips. He wrings his fingers together, then begins to rub his thumb over Sousuke’s signature tattooed on his wrist.

“I mean…shit.” He hisses. “I mean do you _like_ me! Do you wanna hold my fucking hand at the movies? Do you wanna go on picnics with me, where we eat little sandwiches and look at the clouds?! Do you wanna touch my butt?!” He demands. “Well?!”

Sousuke isn’t sure what to say. He wants the ground to open up and swallow him whole. He wants to take back everything. This could be the answer that makes Rin balk and run out of his life once and for all. Sousuke can’t risk that.

But then he stares into Rin’s pleading eyes, looking so frightened and confused, and he knows he can’t lie to him. He can’t bear the way his breath catches in his throat or his heart stutters when he looks into Rin’s face.

“Yes.” Is all he says. Rin audibly swallows.

“How long?”

Sousuke gives a humourless laugh. Seems as good as time as any to just dive right in.

“God, I dunno.” He laughs. “I can’t remember.”

“Try.” Rin sounds annoyed. Sousuke turns to glare at him.

“I can’t remember,” He snarls “Because it feels like I’ve always loved you.” He throws it in Rin’s face, expecting him to arc up and start yelling at him.

 

He doesn’t anticipate Rin to crumble like he does. He doesn’t expect Rin’s eyes to shoot wide or a small gasp to leave his throat. He bites his bottom lip and wrenches his eyes away, before Sousuke gets a chance to see the shock and tears welling in them. He falls against the fence with a hard exhale, like he’s been winded. He places his head in his hands.

“But like… you’re straight.” He mumbles.

“I never said I was straight.” Sousuke laughs. “You assumed.” He smirks at Rin, eyes sparkling. Rin stares back, open mouthed. The hint of a smile falls upon his lips. He shoves Sousuke hard.

“Why… You never said anything about liking dudes!”

Sousuke laughs and lets Rin push him again.

“How could I?” He continues to laugh. “Then you’d be all ‘how do you know you like guys? Which guys do you like? Is he hot?’ with all your questions. How was I supposed to face all that?” He sighs. “No I couldn’t do it. Not when you were the one that I wanted to be with.” Sousuke’s smile falters. He stares at the ground again. “I’m sorry.” He whispers.

Rin smiles and punches his shoulder.

“Nah, man. It’s cool.” He smiles bashfully. “ _We’re_ cool.”

Sousuke cocks his head to the side.

“Really? Even though I check out your ass?” He smirks. This makes Rin laugh and he combs a hand through his hair.

“No and besides…” He purposefully avoids eye contact. “If I got mad at you for that… then I’d be a huge hypocrite.”

Sousuke raises his eyebrows at that. He smiles smugly down at his friend.

“I knew I wasn’t crazy.”

“I’m sorry.” Rin whispers. “I’m sorry I dragged you out here, this is just…” He plays with his hair, finally deciding to tie it into a pony tail.

“This is just really new to me. I thought I _was_ straight.” He huffs. “That fucking tattoo man…”

Sousuke laughs and Rin laughs with him.

“That was just the final push out of heterosexual land.”

Sousuke throws his head back and barks out a laugh. It’s strange. He feels at ease, even though the two of them are talking about incredibly personal things. A great weight has been lifted off of his shoulders and he feels like he can’t stop smiling.

“So what do you want to do now?” He sighs. Rin groans. He rocks back and forth on the balls of his feet.

“Honestly?”

“Honestly.”

Rin shakes his head and scoffs. There’s a devious smirk on his lips.

“I kinda want you to kiss me again.”

Sousuke hums thoughtfully. He scratches his chin, as if he’s weighing up all the pros and cons of the request. His face is calm, despite the butterflies starting to rise in his stomach.

“I think I can manage that.” He decides. Rin flushes. He smiles bashfully up at Sousuke, tucking a loose strand of hair behind his ear. Sousuke steps forward. He places his hands gently on either side of Rin’s neck and leans in so that their noses barely touch.

“Ready?” He smirks.

“Yeah”, Rin breathes. The neediness in his voice breaks Sousuke, and he lunges forward. He had meant to kiss Rin gently, so he doesn’t spook him, but their gentle touch of the lips soon devolves into an open mouthed, aggressive, kiss. Rin loses his hands in Sousuke’s hair, and he groans into his mouth. There’s not the fear creeping into his limbs like before, just searing heat and weightlessness. He pushes his body up into Sousuke’s broad chest, seeking more contact. Sousuke drinks in every bit of contact like he’s just run a marathon. He runs a hand down Rin’s side and pushes against his lower back. Finally, when he thinks he’s going to pass out from lack of oxygen, he pulls away.

“So uh…” He pants. “How was that?”

Rin, equally breathless, nods.

“Yeah I think we could stand to do that some more.”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah.” Rin smiles against Sousuke’s lips, before hungrily pulling him down for more.

 

…

 

Rin rolls over in his bed and wraps an arm over Sousuke’s bare chest. It’s late, and he should really be asleep so he’s not exhausted for his fashion marketing class in the morning. Sousuke nuzzles the top of his head and kisses it. Rin smiles contentedly, then kisses Sousuke’s shoulder. He trails light kisses all the way down his arm, over the brand new sleeve tattoo that has been etched into his skin.

“Can’t believe you did this.” He sighs against Sousuke’s bicep. “Don’t they say that you shouldn’t get your significant other’s name tattooed on you?”

“It’s not your name.” Sousuke laughs.

“It basically is.” Rin trails his finger over the gnarled cherry tree branches, that bloom into soft blossoms and fall down his boyfriend’s forearm. “I know you got it _because_ of me, and don’t you dare lie.”

Sousuke wraps his large arms around Rin. He presses his face into the side of his neck and kisses his cheek.

“Alright, alright, you got me there.”

“You could’ve just bought me a videogame or something.” Rin pouts.

“But I know you like this better.” Sousuke teases. He _knows_ the kind of effect tattoos have on his boyfriend.

“Gah, I’m so weak.” Rin sighs and gently kisses Sousuke on the lips.

“Happy anniversary.” He kisses back.

“Happy anniversary.”

 

When they’ve gotten settled in and are about to turn out the lights, Sousuke turns to Rin.

“Hey… you know I love doing it, but my client list is getting really crazy and I’m planning to open up the new shop…”

Rin silences his ramblings with a gentle hand on his mouth.

“You need to quit the band.” He answers for him. Sousuke looks sheepish and apologetic. Rin shakes his head at him.

“It’s fine. I knew you wouldn’t be able to do it forever.” He smiles. “I’m just happy you got to do it for so long.”

“I’ll really miss it.” Sousuke admits. “Watching you play in those too tight pants and that ripped up shirt?” He lets out a low whistle. “Those were good nights.” He sighs at the memories.

“Well I’m incredibly proud that you’re stopping because your tattooing business has gotten so crazy.” Rin lightly kisses his shoulder. “I always told you you were the best.”

Sousuke gives Rin a squeeze around his waist.

“So what are you going to do?” He sighs and turns out the lamp. Rin cuddles up to his side. He lays his head on Sousuke’s chest and breathes in the smell of his earthy cologne.

“I put an ad up online already. I knew you’d have to move on soon.” He feels sleep creep on his eyes. “We’ll see if anyone interesting shows up.”

 

…

 

Rin is surprised at the voice that calls out from the other side of the garage door, but he rolls it up all the same. Once the door is up, Rin can make out the silhouetted figure of a tall boy. He’s broad like Sousuke, and easy on the eyes with tanned skin and pretty green eyes. His smile and nervous demeanour are endearing. Rin steps forward, holding out his hand.

“I’m Rin.” The young man takes his hand with a firm grip and shakes it. “Rin Matsuoka.

“Makoto Tachibana.” The young man answers. In his peripheral vision, Rin can just make out Haru leaning further forward on his stool with curiosity.

 

**Author's Note:**

> Gah so long! Let's hope I do more goofy short one shots from now on.
> 
> BTW, if you're curious, the songs directly featured in this are 'Tightrope' by Walk the Moon, and 'I don't wanna love somebody else' by A Great Big World.


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